Method of knitting



Nov. 18, 1941. l. w. GROTHEY METHOD OF KNITTING Filed July 5, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 WAN w. GROTHEY I fykz's ailarn eys' Nov. 18, 1941. w. GROTHEY METHOD OF KNITTING Filed July 5, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jiveniar IVAN W. GROTHEY 5 72:5 aZZ'arneya Patented Now- 18,194!" V t 7 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,203,492 mz'rnon or xmrrmc Ivan w. Grothey, Laconia, N. 11., assignor to Scott a William, Incorporated, Laconla, N. 11., a corporation of Massachusetts Application July 5, 1941, Serial No. 401.0151

12 Claims.

'Thisinvention relates to a method of interlacing wrap yarns on a wrap stripe circular knitting machine, and more particularly to interlacing wrap yarns in a color-in-color pattern. Heretofore in circular knitting machines trouble has been caused, particularly on the more complicated patterns made by wrapping, due to the fact that while the wrap pattern yarns are initially laid in the hooks of selected needles only, when the needles all come together at the knitting point the interlaced yarns sometimes get over into the hooks of needles on which no wrapplug is desired. Also when needles which were wrapped at a second wrapping point to make color-in-color designs were brought down to the level of the needles which were wrapped at a prior point the wrap yarns would get over into the hooks of needles which were not selectedto take them. According to the present invention, this difliculty is avoided by a special manipulation of the needles between the initial wrapping and the knocking-over point. It should be understood that where the word interlaced" is used, reference is had to laying the yarn in front of certain needles and in back of others prior to the knitting wave to produce selective wrapping. The invention will be shown embodied in a Scott Williams revolving needle cylinder circular knitting machine, and more particularly in connection with the mechanisms of the patent to Ivan W. Grothey No. 2,225,829, dated December 24, 1940, and the patent to Harry Swinglehurst No. 2,000,798, dated May '7, 1935.

In the drawings: V

Fig. 1 is a development of the needles, jacks and their cam paths in a Scott 8: Williams knitting machine having two wrap ing points and adapted to carry out the presen invention; the horizontal arrow showing the direction of movement or the needles;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of three needles and the wrap yarn and associated elements in the positions which they occupy when the nonselected interlacing needle is higher than the wrap needles;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view similar to Fig. 2, showing the positions of iive needles after they have started down the stitch cam;

Fig. 4 is a development of the cam paths of the upper and lower cam rings of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a view of a portion of a wrap fabric made in accordance with my invention, the line as can be used in Figs. 1 and 4 to carry out the novel method; while Fig. 7 is a view of a portion of a wrap fabric similar to Fig. 5 except that the center portion shows wrap yarns on adjacent needles instead of being separated by nonewrapped needles,

In-making clock patterns on hosiery and in other types of wrap patterns as well, it is desirable to wrap a single wrap yarn under the hooks of two needles spaced from each other-by one or more other needles. On such patterns it has been customary to raise the selected needles,

fi-i indicating the needle set-up illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of a pattern jack such wrap them and then keep them a short distance above the non-selected needles until the needles are about to start the knitting wave. With this manipulation the interlacing occurs at or about the beginning of the stitch cam when the wrap needles are lowered into line. Sometimes the wrap yarn, being near the hooks, gets over the head of a non-selected needle lying between two needles wrapped by one wrap yarn, and thence into the hook. This produces a faulty pattern. The bight or float of wrap yarn must be kept in back of that non-selected needle in order to keep it from being taken by that needle, and the idea of the present invention is to insure that the yarn does stay in back of that needle. It has been discovered that this difiiculty is overcome if V the unwrapped needles are raised above the level of the adjacent wrapped needles, which causes the interlacing to take place at that point and prevents the wrap yarn becoming misplaced by the interlacing. When the non-selected needles are brought back to the level of the wrap needles, the bight of yarn by friction will tend to stay down on the shanks of the non-selected needles and away from the heads so that it cannot by any chance get over the tops of the hooks (see Fig. 3).

The novel method will be shown and described in connection with a knitting machine having a single knitting point It, but two wrapping points 20 and 30. The needles .are represented by the characters n, n a, n n n n, n", the corresponding needles in each pattern group bearing the same clfaracter. Let us consider the needles in the group in the order in which they knit, and note that the blue yarn fed at the first wrapping point 20 from finger F is marked Y and the red yarn fed at the second wrapping point 30 from finger F is marked Y. Each group of wrapped needles embraces seven. The first needie n at the left of each group as viewed in Fig.

1 is wrapped with the red yarn Y at the second n in the group is also wrapped by the red yarn and that yarn must be interlaced behind the five intervening needles 12., n n, n and n; The second, fourth and sixth needles n, n and 11, do not take either wrap yam. The third and fifth needles n n take the blue yarn Y at the first wrapping point 20. This is known as "color-incolor wrapping.

The needle selecting mechanism oi the abovementioned Grothey Patent 2,225,829 or any other desired means can-be employed to carry out the initial selections for the new method of interlacing. The machine has a lower cam ring for the pattern jacks I36 and an upper cam ring for the needles. The J'ack's for the two wrapping points are selected simultaneously but in a dinerentiated manner which enables each selection to be used by the upper cam ring for its own wrapping point only. The lower cam ring also imtiates the novel elevation of the unwrapped needles. As shown in Fig. 6, the pattern jack has two steps or notches I33, I34 at the bottom, either of which can be used to raise the jack when its needle is to be wrapped. If the needle is to be wrapped at the first wrapping point by the yarn Y the lower notch 133. is used to engage the pattern jack raising cam I4I, but if the needle is to be wrapped at the second wrapping point, the jack must be pressed in half way in order that the second notch I34 may engage the raising cam. If the needle is not to be wrapped at either wrapping point, the lower end of the jack must be pushed all the way in so as to miss the cam entirely. To get this difierentiation, any usual selecting means can be employed, such for instance as that shown in Figs. 2 and 3 of the Grothey Patent 2,050,946, dated August 11, 1936.

Let us first follow the course of the pattern jacks whose needles are to be wrapped at the first wrapping point. The lower ends of pattern jacks I36 belonging to the needles n n are radially out, having been reset by the cam which resets all the jacks in that position, as for example, the usual cam I of the Grothey patent above-mentioned. Not having been pushed in by the selecting finger, the lowermost step or notch 133 will engage the regular raising cam III and thereby be raised to the top of the cam. At this level the pattern jacks I36 have pushed the intermediate jacks I32 upwardly into contact with the lower ends of theirneedles and the needles have been pushed upwardly until the bottoms of their butts are above the beginning edge of the lower end of the booster or needle raising cam I21. As the needle cylinder continues to revolve, the needles n and n ride up the booster cam to wrapping elevation and the yarn finger F wraps the blue yarn Y around the needles, as shown. The needle butts then contact the needle lowering cam I28, which pushes the needles down once more into contact with their intermediate jacks, and continued revolution of the cylinder brings the butts of the needles into contact with a lower face of the booster cam I25 for raising needles to the second wrap point. This lower face depresses the needles n, n and therefore their intermediate and pattern jacks I32, I35 about the forming the upper step or notch I34 is pressed in by a cam |43 to clear the jack oil the cam HI and the cam I49 which raises jacks for the second wrapping point. A

In the meantime the pattern jacks that were rocked half way in by pattern yarn fingers such as shown in the Grothey Patent 2,050,946 above mentioned, ride up the pattern jack raising cam I4I on their upper step or notch. i3! with. lower step or notch I33 lying beside the inner face of the cam. Their height when at the top of the raising cam is such as to bring the pattern jacks, the intermediate jacks and needles all into contact, but not sufiiciently to raise the butts oi the needles to a point opposite the first booster cam I2I. These needles therefore are not raised to wrap at the first wrapping point. However, after travelling along the top of the raising cam "I a short distance they come to a second raising cam I49 which raises them to cause their associated needle heads to pass outside the yarn on the wrapped needles which is being held down by end H of the wrap yarn abutment to cause interlacing. They then continue to rise to a level where the butts of their needles n and n ride up the second booster cam I25 and down cam I28 and have the red or second wrap yarn Y laid around them by the finger F There is a, cam I58 on the lower cam ring to push radially inward the lower ends of the pattern jacks whose needles were wrapped at the second wrapping point, e. g., needles n and 12 This is necessary in order that the jacks may clear the cam I49 and be lowered by a cam I42 along with the other jacks.

It is necessary in carrying out the method of this novel process to raise the unwrapped needles above the level of the wrapped needles between the time that the needles are wrapped and the time that all the needles start down the stitch cam, and for this purpose two special cams are provided for the pattern jacks of such unwrapped needles. On the upper end of each pattern jack is a resetting butt I38 which is adapted to be opposite a resetting cam I48 when the jack remains at the level of the jacks which did not come up the raising cam I4I. This resetting cam does not afiect any of the pattern jacks which went up the raising cams to the first or second wrapping points, because the butt at the upper 'end' of those jacks is well above the push-out cam. The resetting cam circumferentially is located at a point just after the raising edge or the auxiliary jack raising cam I49 and acts only on the jacks of unwrapped needles, as mentioned. It serves to reset all jacks which were pushed all the way in by selected fingers prior to the regular raising cam I4I. Immediately thereafter the lower ends of the jacks contact the resetting cam I41 which pushes the unwrapped needles up about 5 This is about above the level of the needles n n which were wrapped at the second wrapping point.

This serves to interlace the yarns already referred to because the needles which were wrapped at the first wrapping point are only about 1%" above the original level of the unwrapped needles. As the cylinder continues to revolve, the unwrapped needles are drawn down slightly by the top center cam 35! which brings them to a level with the first wrap needles, and the second wrap needles are also brought down to this same level bythe same cam. All the needles continue at this level until they reach the stitch cam 360. Itv will be noted that after wrapping, the needles 11. n are kept at a lower level than the needles '11, n", although both of them are above the level of the unwrapped needles n, n, 11. until the lat- 5 ring.

In circular knitting machines for making se lected wrap patterns by raising certain needles above the level of others, it is generally necessary to have a guard or horn to keep the wrap yarns out of non-selected needles, and in the drawings of this application this has been shown as the element 40. It is located at a level with its upper edge just below the needles from the first wrapping point after they have been wrapped,

and holds the yarn and the needle at about that level, as shown in Fig. 2, until control of the yarn is taken over by the so-called plating finger 44 which holds the yarn down along the stitch cam 360. The primary purpose of this plating finger is to insure that the wrap yarn appears 5 on the outside of the stocking by holding the wrap yarn 'down which results in also holding interlaced yarn below the point where it can get over the heads of the needles. Both the end of the yarn going from the wrapped needle to the previous stitch and the end going from the wrapped group to the wrap yarn finger overlie the top of the horn 40, as shown in Fig, 2, but there is another element, namely, the end ii of the wrap yarn abutment which overlies the bight' of yarn between the last needle of the group and the wrap yarn finger, this serving to hold that bight down to a point about opposite the bottom of the hooks of the needles. In this way the wrap yarn is kept at a point below the curve 40 of the hooks of the needles and radially inward against the shanks of the needles. With the yarn held taut inthis position the unwrapped needles being raised under the influence of either the jack cam 14'! or 149 push up past the wrapped 4 needles and the yarn is dragged down in back of the shanks of the upwrapped needles. When the needles return to a common level with the wrapped needles, the end of the wrap yarn ex- 60 tending from the last wrapped needle to the yarn finger is held down by an extension E of the usual shear bracket, holding the wrap yarns down into interlacing position until they come in contact with plating finger 44, so that the wrap yarn bights never hop over into the hook of a needle The sequence of steps just described is particularly useful because the difilculties of preventing faulty interlacing in the hooks are greater where there are a plurality of wrapping points than otherwise. Thus by arranging the levels of the needles wrapped at the first wrapping point, the needles wrapped at the second point and the needles which are not wrapped, as to avoid the possibility of an accidental interlace until the entire group can be interlaced at once, the present invention can be used in a particularly complicated situation.

In the modification of Fig. 7 the yarn Y is wrapped on the center needle n in addition to needles n and n" on the line :r-:::, and the yarn Y is wrapped on needles n and n instead of n and n It is possible to do this because the raising of the center needle to take the wrap yarn Y interlaces the first wrap yarn Y behind the wrap needles n, 12' before the two wrap yarns are interlaced behind the non-selected needles.

what I claim is: g

1. A method of interlacing a wrap pattern yarn on a circular knitting machine, comprising the steps of raising selected spaced needles, placing the yarn in the hooks of said needles and then raising the intervening needles to a level above the selected needles, thereby laying the yarn in back of the last raised needles and causing interlacing.

2. A method of interlacing a wrap pattern yarn on a circular knitting machine, comprising the steps of raising selected needles to take a wrap yarn, feeding it to the selected needles, then causing the wrap yarn to be interlaced in back of the non-selected needles by raising the latter above the wrap needles, and subsequently lowering the nonselected needles into line prior to the stitch cam.

3. A method of interlacing a wrap pattern yarn on a circular knitting machine, comprising the steps of raising selected needles to take a wrap yarn, feeding a wrap yarn to the selected needles, then raising the non-selected needles above the wrap needles to cause interlacing oi the wrap yarn and maintaining said non-selected needles at least as high as the selected needles till the needles merge into a single line.

4. A method of wrapping and interlacing wrap pattern yarns at multiple points, including the steps of returning needles wrapped at difierent points to successive difierent levels, each above the unwrapped needle level, and interlacing the wrap yarns among the needles not wrapped by raising them above the wrapped needles.

5. A method of interlacing a plurality of wrap yarns on a circular knitting machine comprising the steps of raising selected needles at one point, placing one interlacing yarn in front of same, lowering said needles part way to the level of the unselected needles, thereafter raising other needles and wrapping same with another interlacing yarn, and then interlacing both yarns 5 simultaneously by raising the non-selected needles above both levels of wrapped needles.

6. A method of interlacing a plurality of wrap yarns on a circular knitting machine comprising .the steps of raising and wrapping selected needles at one point, lowering same to an intermediate level, raising and wrapping other se-' lected needles at another point and lowering them to a level above that of the first wrapped needles and then interlacing both wrap yarns simultaneously by raising the non-selected needles above both levels of wrapped needles.

'7. A method of interlacing a plurality of wrap yarns on a circular knitting machine, comprising the steps of raising and wrapping selected needles at one point, lowering same to an intermediate level, raising and wrapping other selected needles at another point and lowering them to a level above that of the first wrapped needles, then interlacing both Wrap yarns simultaneously by raising the non-selected needles above both levels of wrapp d needles, and keeping the non-selected needles at least as high as the wrapped needles till they reach the stitch cam.

8. A method of interlacing a wrap pattern .yarn on a circular knitting machine, comprising lacing, and maintaining the interlacing by keeping the non-selected needles at least ash-sh as the wrapped needles till they reach the stitch cam. v

9. A method of interlacing a wrap pattern yarn on a circular knitting machine, comprising the steps of raising selected spaced needles, placing the yarn in the hooks of said needles, raising the intervening non-selected needles to a level above the selected needles, thereby causing interlacing, and maintaining the interlacing by lowering the non selected needles to the level the wrap needles but no further, just prior to the stitch cam.

10. A method of interlacing a plurality of wrap yarns on a circular knitting machine comprising the steps of raising and wrapp ng selected needles at one point, lowering same to an intermediate level, raising other selected needle for interlacing and afterwards wrapping at another point and lowering same to a level above that 01' the first wrapped needles and then interlacing both wrap yarns simultaneously with the non-selected needles by raising the latter above both levels or wrapped needles.

11. A method or wrapping and interlacing wrap 4 a,aos,soa

pattern yarns at multiple points, including the steps or raising, wrapping and lowering to an intermediate level selected spaced needles, then raising an intervening needle or needles to therepattern yarns at multiple points, including the steps of raising, wrapping and lowering to an intermediate level selected spaced needles then raising an intervening needle or needles to thereby interlace the first wrap yarn behind the needles wrapping at the second point, returning the second-wrapped needle or needles to an intermediate level above that or the first-wrapped needles and thereafter keeping the secondwrapped needle or needles at least as high as the first-wrappedneedles till they reach the stitch cam.

IVAN W. GROTHEY. 

